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    Oborne questions to Ryan, Umunna, LFI, CFI and Board of Deputies from last year Archived Message

    Posted by johnhol on February 20, 2019, 10:04 pm

    This is from May of last year.

    Article begins:

    For the past three months, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has been convulsed by accusations that his party is not just a critic of Israel and a harbourer of anti-Semites, but actually hostile to British Jews. The most damaging charge electorally is that British Jews no longer feel at home in Corbyn’s party.

    Many of those voices are not people who normally have any worthwhile or informed opinion on the Middle East.

    Today I asked some of those voices if they would condemn Israel's use of live ammunition to maim and kill unarmed protesters in the Gaza Strip.

    I sent them the following set of questions:

    1. Do you unreservedly condemn the actions of the Israeli army yesterday?

    2. Do you agree with Jeremy Corbyn that international action must be taken in response to the Gaza border killings?

    3. If so, what action do you believe should be taken?

    4. If Israel behaves with impunity, what non-violent alternative do you believe there is to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement?

    5. If the US vetoes a UN commission of inquiry into the killings, what pressure do you believe can be applied on Israel by the international community?

    6. Do you agree with Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman when he said in April that “there are no innocents in Gaza”?

    7. Would you qualify Israeli actions yesterday as “measured” and “surgical” (the words of Mark Regev on Radio 4 this morning)?

    I sent these questions to the following people and organisations: the British Board of Deputies of British Jews; Labour Friends of Israel; Joan Ryan MP (chair of the LFI) and Chukka Umunna MP. I sent the same questions to Conservative Friends of Israel.

    Continues:
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-uks-wall-silence-gives-israel-impunity-its-actions

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